MACKENZIE PHILLIPS

BIOGRAPHY

“Molly Phillips”

Mackenzie
Phillips stars as Molly Phillips, a former rock star on a
“comeback”
tour, who travels around the country with her two kids in a custom
touring bus in
Disney Channel’s new original series, So Weird

.

Mackenzie Phillips burst onto the acting scene at the age
of twelve when
she played Carol, the outrageously pushy hitchhiker, in George
Lucas’ critically
acclaimed film American
Graffiti. Staring Ron Howard, Harrison Ford, Richard
Dreyfuss, and Cindy Williams.American Graffiti went on to become one of the
most successful films in history and made Mackenzie an overnight
star.

But Phillips is probably best known for her seven-year role
as Julie Cooper
on the popular CBS sitcom One Day at A Time.Norman Lear asked Mackenzie to
play the part when she was just fifteen years old.The show, which also starred
Bonnie Franklin and Valerie Bertinelli, premiered in 1975.

After her success in American Graffiti, Mackenzie garnered
critical
acclaim for her starring role in the film Rafferty & The Gold
Dust Twins.She
then
took a hiatus from acting, and later returned to television to
star in the TV movies
Kate’s Secret, Miles Before I go To Sleep and Eleanor &
Franklin.

She followed that with special guest-star appearances in
episodic
television shows including Caroline in the City; Walker, Texas
Ranger; NYPD Blue,
Melrose Place; Beverly Hills, 90210; Chicago Hope and
Murder, She Wrote.Her
other feature film credits include When, True Friends and Mama
Why?.

Born into a legendary musical family, Mackenzie is a
talented singer, as
well as an actor.In
1965, her father, John Phillips, launched The Mamas and the
Papas, one of the most successful pop bans in history, with songs
including
“Monday, Monday” and “California Dreamin’.”When Mackenzie was 23, years
after the band had split up, her father recreated The Mamas and
the Papas and
asked Mackenzie, who had always wanted to sing, to join the band.They were
an instant hit and toured around the world for more than three
years.

Mackenzie later transitioned her vocal skills to the state
and wowed
audiences across America and on Broadway as the wisecracking
“pink lady,”
Rizzo, in the Broadway revival of Grease.She also starred in the Pennsylvania
Repertory Company production of On Golden Pond and the
Off-Broadway
production of The Comings and Goings of Average People.

After experiencing a period of substance abuse early in her
life,
Mackenzie devotes her spare time to anti-drug activities,
including speaking at
schools, rehab programs and children’s organizations around the
country.She is
also actively involved in the National Council of Alcoholism and
Drug Addiction,
as well as Helpline, a crisis and drug addiction organization in
Philadelphia